John Earnest, press secretary for the white house, announced Friday that any big changes in 2016 regarding a marijuana reform will have to come from Congress, according to the Washington Post.
President Obama was at a House Democratic retreat in Baltimore Thursday when he made it clear that legalizing marijuana, for medical or recreational purposes, is not on his agenda as his second term comes to an end. The question at hand is whether or not the United States should reschedule the drug.
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As of now marijuana is considered a Schedule I drug, federally speaking, which means that it is highly addictive and has no value to the government. Many lawmakers have proposed marijuana be reclassified as a Schedule II drug.
This would allow states to experiment with medicinal elements of the drug, even though many are already. It would also create a distinction between marijuana and other Schedule I drugs like heroine or cocaine. This change would not allow recreational marijuana markets, like the ones that have been established in Oregon, Colorado, Washington and Alaska.
To read more about Obama’s standpoint on the issue, check out the full article.
